Flying high from their top-four finishes in the Thompson Division standings, the men's and women's ski teams traveled to Waterville Valley, N.H. for the Eastern Collegiate Ski Conference Regional Championships, hoping to earn top-five finishes and bids to Nationals.
But the teams hit some slippery slopes and the men skidded their way to a 13th-place finish, while the women finished just shy of the top ten in 11th place.
With New England's top collegiate racers in attendance, the Jumbos faced the toughest competition of the season. Still, the team was ready to go and excited about its chances.
"We were standing in the gate ready to go all-out," freshman Pat Tonelli said. "We had nothing to lose and everything to gain."
Unfortunately for Tufts, neither the men's nor the women's team could put together a completely consistent weekend.
Sunday, however, afforded the Jumbos the opportunity to showcase their forte, the giant slalom combine. Junior captain Andrew Benson led the squad, finishing at fifth overall. Following Benson, senior Joseph Shaw took 46th and freshman Sam Perrone took 62nd, to give the Jumbos an 11th place finish on the day.
The women's team managed three respectable finishes, as freshman Nicole Fontaine took 32nd, senior Alexandra Nussbaum took 41st, and sophomore Alissa Brandon took 46th, putting the women in 13th for the event.
But the women's team ran into some rough conditions, as junior captain Lauren Vasey fell on both Saturday and Sunday.
"The course was really rutted," Vasey said. "But falls are always going to happen."
On Saturday, Benson took 10th overall in slalom, followed by Tonelli, who took 51st. The usual No. 2, Shaw had a solid first run, but fell and did not finish on his second. Since Tufts failed to finish a third racer, the squad was automatically handed the last-place time in the race, which dropped it to 14th for the day.
The women had a more impressive day, as Fontaine finished 31st overall, followed by Nussbaum and Brandon at 53rd and 64th, respectively. These three times landed the women in 10th place on the day, a real accomplishment considering the talent of the opposition.
"We were racing against teams that were top five in nationals last year, so we were pretty happy with our results," she said.
Non-conference powerhouses dominated the trails over the weekend. On Sunday, Castleton State College took the top three spots in the giant slalom, finishing with a commanding victory on the day. Both of these varsity teams qualified for Nationals with their top-five overall finishes.
On Saturday, Plymouth State University in New Hampshire had racers finish in the first, third and sixth spots overall to take the slalom combine.
Despite failing to break the top 10, the Tufts alpine ski teams did not walk away bitter after the weekend. Besides the top five teams, the best overall racer from the other 11 teams advances to Nationals. Due to his stellar performance this season and consistent first-place finishes for the team, junior Andrew Benson will go to Winter Park, Colo. in March for the national races.
"[Benson] has so much more experience than the rest of us," Perrone said. "And he is really a great resource to have on the team."
The women were happy with their performance on the year, as they placed second in the Thompson Division standings.
Though Tufts is a club team, it raced with some of the top varsity teams in New England, which boast recruiting capabilities and dignified coaches. Still Tufts found a way to stay with them, earning births in Regionals for both the men's and women's teams.
"We combine athleticism with heart and we all really love being on the team," Brandon said.
